Garment hanger



B. T. PETTY 02,120

GARMENT HANGER Filed 51, 1936 5 m @JIPeZZ Patented May 28, 1940 UNITED STTES ATENT GFFHQE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to garment hangers and has been illustrated as embodied in hangers which are especially suitable for dresses with neck sizes such that it is difiicult to insert a hanger with the normal cross span without unbuttoning the dress at the neck, or without wrinkling or soiling the dress at the neck and shoulder portions. In some of its forms it includes a clip for holding a price tag and is therefore especially advantageous for stores.

The present invention is more particularly an improvement over the garment hanger of my copending application Serial No. 63,167, of which this is a continuation in part.

A great many different forms of hangers have been produced in the past. Prior to applicants invention they have all been subject to one serious disadvantage, namely that in inserting them in tight necked dresses, at least tight necked as contrasted with an evening gown or the like having simply shoulder straps forsupporting purposes, it was necessary to unfasten the neck in order to get them in, because after one shoulder portion had been inserted in the dress, the hook would prevent the hanger from slipping far enough into the dress for the other shoulder portion to be inserted through the neck.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome this difiiculty. This is accomplished by so constructing the hanger that one end of the hanger may be inserted into the dress considerably more than half way, leaving only a short shoulder portion to be inserted through the tight neck. This will usually be accomplished most conveniently by causing the shank of the hook to connect with the body of the hanger not at the center line of the hanger but rather at the line corresponding to the neck line of a tight necked dress hanging on the hanger. For convenience this point may be called the neck line of the hanger.

The merchandising of dresses heretofore has been subject to another disadvantage, namely the lack of accessibility of the price and size tag. It will be understood that such tags cannot uniformly be placed on the sleeve as with mens suits, since often there are no sleeves. The custom has therefore been to place such tags on the inside of the neck of the dress or sometimes to tie the tag to a button or occasionally to the hanger. In any event, the dress had to be handled more or less in order to see the tag, with the result that dresses were often soiled in this manner.

An object of the present invention is to over- (01. 22s ss) come this merchandising difficulty, and this has been done by providing a clip portion at the top of the main portion of the hanger which will hold the price tag constantly in view so that the dress need not be touched to read the price 5 tag. Since the clip portion holds the tag in a given definite position, it is always visible at a glance, even when the hanger has been removed from the dress, so that it is easy for the salesperson to glance at two or three hangers :10 to determine which one a given dress belongs on when she is replacing the dresses on the hangers.

As a matter of fact, both the insertion problem and the tag problem are solved in unison in accordance with this invention, since the same .15 loop in the shank of the hook which permits the easy insertion of the hanger in a tight necked dress, may be made of a double wire at its corner so that the tag may be slipped between the two wires. Furthermore, the particular shaping of .20

the hanger and the loop make it easy to open the clip for insertion of the tag by spreading the Wires slightly apart.

This same feature may also help in avoiding another difficulty which is the sliding of dresses 5 ofi of the hangers or their sliding to a lopsided position. Since the hook shank extends upwardly from the body of the hanger at approximately the neck line, it acts as a stop for the dress at that position so that the dress cannot 30 slide toward the other end of the hanger. If desired, some sort of a stop may also be provided on the other side of the hanger, i. e. at the neck line on the other side so that the dress will not accidentally slip in either direction.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description, and from the drawing, in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view of one preferred form of the hanger chosen for illustration. v Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an. elevational View of a modified form of the hanger,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view substantially along, the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary views showing modifications somewhat similar to the form shown in Fig. 1.

Although this invention may take numerous, I forms, only a few have been chosen for illustration. In all of these forms the hanger includes the two shoulder portions II and I2, a hook l3, and a hook shank M which is joined to the body of the hanger at a point 15 which approximately corresponds to the neck line of a tight necked dress hanging on t e hanger, although in the form shown in Fig. 5 is may be even lower on the shoulder than the neck line. As used in this application, tight neck is simply a relative term to contrast with a wide necked dress where the shoulder support for the dress is provided in straps of various widths.

Securing the shank of the hook to the body of the hanger at this point has the important advantage of facilitating the insertion of the hook into a tight necked dress. Thus, the entire shoulder portion l I may be inserted first through the neck of the dress, and the body portion of the hanger may be slipped on into the dress until the upstanding portions l5 of the shank of the hook strike the dress. Thus, it will be seen that the hanger is approximately two-thirds of the way into the dress. The remaining shoulder portion l2 may then be inserted through the neck of the dress quite easily without unfastening the dress. In other words, the extent to which the body of the hanger may be inserted in the dress while the hook remains outside should be such that the length of the portion remaining outside of the dress is no greater than the length of the neck opening of the dress when it is flattened out without being unfastened.

In Fig. 1 the entire hanger may be formed from a single piece of wire, one end of which is shaped to form the hook it, with the rest of the wire extending through the shank around the loop forming the body portion of the hanger and back along the shank of the hook to the twisted joint l1. From the twisted joint I! to the point l5 are two wires extending in parallel, one directly behind the other in Fig. l, as seen more clearly in Fig. 2. In Fig. 2 these two wires have been numbered I8, and it may be seen that they form jaws of a clip for holding a price and size tag 49. These jaws are preferably stiff enough and normally close enough together to hold the price tag quite firmly so that it will not be knocked out accidentally. It may, however, be inserted and removed very easily by springing the jaws it apart, which is done by using the shoulder portions of the hanger as levers while pressing on or near the twisted joint I! with one finger. This operation can perhaps best be described as bending the hanger slightly about the point of the twisted joint ll. As will be observed in Fig. l, the lower ends of the jaws l8 extend upwardly from the body of the hanger, with the result that they form a stop for the shoulder portion of the dress resting on the shoulder portion [2 of the hanger and also serve to position the tag in full view above the dress, and furthermore serve to position the remainder of the shank M of the hook as a spaced arm above the body of the hanger so as to form the recess 2! into which the far side of the neck and shoulder portion of the dress may be slid in inserting the hanger into the dress, as discussed above.

It will be observed that the shoulder portion H is extended upwardly to form the hump 22. This minimizes the danger that a dress will slide up on shoulder portion H far enough to slip off of shoulder portion l2. Furthermore, if it does so, the hump 22 will keep it from slipping back and falling off the hanger altogether.

In Fig. 3 the body of the hanger is formed of a piece of wood or other material, and the hook is applied, thereto at the point IS in any suitable manner, such as that clearly illustrated in which the end ofthe shank is passed down through the body of the hanger and bent over to extend up into the hanger. This again provides the stop portion l6 and the recess 2! which facilitates insertion of the hanger into a tight necked dress. Since the hook l3 and shank M are formed by a single wire, it does not have any double portion to form a clip. A special wire clip 26 may be provided, as shown best in Fig. 4. This clip may have a doubled under end 2?, under which a price tag 28 may be inserted. The position of this price tag is best seen in Fig. 3, from which it appears that with the clip 26 located at the neck line of the dress, the price tag 28 would be clearly visible above or mostly above the neck of the dress.

In Fig 5 has been shown a form of the hanger which would take care of any exceptional circumstances under which the forms shown in Figs. 1 and 3 would not pass through the neck of the dress with suiiicient ease. For example, if the neck of the dress were extremely tight and if for some unusual reason it was desired to have the shoulder portions l l and i2 unusually long, the length of the shoulder portion l2 from the point IE to the tip of the shoulder portion l2 might be too great to pass through the neck of the dress. It may not be practical to shift the upstanding portion it of the shank much lower on the shoulder portion it without obstructing the neck of the dress in ordinary hanging. To overcome this difilculty, if it should arise, the recess 2| may be positioned below the shoulder portion l2, as seen in 5. Thus, the parallel clamp wires l8 will be alined with the shoulder portion l2 and one of them will bend down at It and be doubled back to form the shoulder portion H, leaving the recess 2i into which the far side of the neck may be slipped in inserting the hanger into the dress. There obviously is no limit to the extent of the recess 25 in this form since; if there were any need for it to do so, it could extend all the way to the shoulder portion 12.

Fig. 6 shows another modification in which a minimum of Wire is used, the shank of the hook being straightened out so that it extends in a straight line from the hook l3 to the point l5. This hanger may not look quite as neat as the other hangers, but will be very satisfactory in service. The clip it may be opened easily by grasping the hook it and the shoulder portion l2 and pressing against the twisted joint ll.

From the foregoing it is seen that very simple hangers are provided under the present invention, which have the marked advantage of permitting their insertion through the tight neck of a dress without unfastening the neck, and also include provision for holding a price and size tag in full view so that soiling of the dresses will be minimized. Without any necessity for handling the neck of the dress either in unfastening it or in looking for the price tag, there will be little need for the dress becoming soiled even though it may be inspected many times. The ease with which the hanger may be removed from the dress and reinserted therein makes it practical for a salesperson to take the hanger out every time she hands the dress to a customer who desires to hold it up in front of herself before a mirror. Thus, there is neither the awkwardness of leaving the hanger in, nor the delay and danger of soiling which result from trying to take it out.

The disclosures of this application are illustrative, and the invention is not to be limited by them. In fact, if modifications or improvements are not at once obvious, they may be devised in the course of time to make additional use of the broad ideas taught and covered by this application. The claims are intended to point out novel features and not to limit the invention except as may be required by prior art.

I claim:

1. Agarment hanger lormed of a piece of wire bent to form a loop comprising the body of the hanger and having its two ends extending away from said loop in an untwisted side by side relation to form a clip and therebeyond twisted together with one end extending farther and forming a hook for the hanger, the untwisted portions forming said clip being of suificient length to be readily flexed to permit insertion of a tag therebetween.

2. A garment hanger formed of a piece of wire bent to form a loop comprising the body of the hanger and having its two ends extending away from said loop in an untwisted side by side relation to form a clip and therebeyond twisted together with one end extending farther and forming a hook for the hanger; the untwisted portions forming said clip being of sufficient length to be readily flexed to permit insertion of a tag therebetween, and two of the wire portions extending from the twisted portion being sufiiciently in alinement to facilitate a manual flexing of said hanger at the twisted portion to separate the said untwisted portions.

3. A garment hanger formed of a piece of wire bent to form a loop comprising the body of the hanger and including angularly disposed shoulder portions, the two 'ends of the wire extending away from said loop in an untwisted side by side relation to form a clip and thereafter twisted together with one end extending farther and forming a hook for the hanger; the untwisted portions forming said clip being of sufficient length to be readily flexed to permit insertion of a tag therebetween and extending upwardly from the body of the hanger at a substantial distance from the meeting point of said shoulder portions, whereby said upwardly extending wires form a stop to prevent dresses sliding up on one of said shoulder portions, and the remainder of the wire ends being spaced above said body portion whereby said hang-er may be inserted into a relatively narrow-necked dress.

4. A garment hanger having its entire structure in a substantially single vertical plane and having a body portion including two shoulder portions, a hook with a downwardly extending portion in said substantially single vertical plane, and a hook shank extending from said hook at the downwardly extending portion and joining said body portion at an off-center point located outside of the vertical projection of the downwardly extending portion of the hook, the portion of the hanger on the long side of the hook shank connection with the body portion being substantially unobstructed by said hook and hook shank whereby the entire long side of the hanger may be inserted into a dress with the hook remainingoutside thereof, and the short side of the hanger being sufliciently short to then pass through the neck of the dress even if it is a relatively tight neck.

5. A one-piece wire garment hanger having a two adjacent wire portions joined together to complete the garment hanger, the spacing arm portion lying substantially parallel to a garment shoulder supporting portion of said hanger, and said spacing arm portion being spaced from the body portion of the hanger at the neck-opening.

portion the length of the laterally extending portion and forming therewith a recess as wide as the laterally extending portion is long and substantially as long as said spacing arm portion.

6. A garment hanger formed of a single piece of wire bent to form a closed loop and including angularly disposed shoulder portions meeting in a rounded hump, the ends of the wire extending beyond the loop at a point to one side of the hump in side by side relation for a substantial distance to provide a tag receiving clip, the wire ends therebeyond being twisted together and one of the wire ends being prolonged for providing a suspending hook.

7. A garment hanger formed of a single piece of wire and including angularly disposed shoulder portions meeting in a rounded hump, the two ends of the wire extending laterally away from one of the shoulder portions at a substantial distance from the hump, one of the wire ends being prolonged and providing a hook whose center is vertically above the hump, and the two wire ends being twisted together between the hook and the point where. they extend laterally from the shoulder portion.

BYRON T. PETTY. 

